The 5th Annual BYC Easter Hatch-a-long!

[PAchickenlover]

I also have her brother "Mudd"

Nice!!! I got some Cochin chicks yesterday (they're super tiny; I think they're bantams); I'm hoping for a smooth roo for Snoodle to mate with. =D

I have a frizzle roo. He is just a barnyard mix guy. But I love the look of the feathers. Lol my dad thinks he is ugly.. I don't.

But he's cute ugly, not ugly ugly. Like what some ppl would call "ugly", but in a way that he has character in his appearance. I like him!!!

Yes! I love the character of his look. His personality is great also.

 

[TeaChick]

Since everyone else is showing off their frizzles:

Here's Snoodle:


And here is the first egg I've gotten from her:
I'm not sure yet whether it's absolutely her first egg or whether she was hiding them before I cooped her on Monday.
(the one at the top is hers; the bottom one is a Comet egg, for encouragement/instruction)

 

[Cynthia12]

I have 5 UofA blues out this morning. One of the UofA X Crele Pene Olive Eggers is nearly out.

I have two Black, one blue and two Splash so far.

Genetically, I should wind up with less splash. I have a Blue cockerel covering two Splash and Two blue pullets.

I will get pictures when I can.

Yay, pictures..as I was reading along, I thought, need to ask for pictures. Do you hatch a lot of the Crele Pene..is this a project? Would love to see that chick that is almost out. OE ey? I love the OE eggs..Not so dark though. When they get to the Khaki color, I don't care for it so much, love the F2 colors.

 

[jbenson]

My DH does bees (I'm still rather frightened of them, so I don't get suited up and near the hive much). Last year was our first year and they were doing great, or so it seemed. When DH and his dad went to wrap the hive for our long MN winter (you wrap them with tar paper to help insulate the hive from the extreme cold and give them a little boost in spring), they were all dead. When we cleaned out the hive to prep for this year, we found most of the bees were gone, not dead inside. Either the queen left and took them with, or she died and they left or flew out and died. The ones dead inside the hive were new brood hatched. There were some frozen to death mid-hatch. It was kinda cool, even though sad we lost the hive. They didn't take the honey, so we are pretty sure they just died (usually when they swarm they take the honey). So we have a lot of honey to start our hives off this spring so there will be less feeding of sugar syrup. And we harvested just two frames last year, but it was a lot. I never weighed it, but it was at least a gallon of honey, probably more (generally you do it by pounds, but we just jarred it up to eat it). DH has ordered 2 packages of bees to be delivered in early April, weather permitting and there is a brand new second hive taking up space in our living room all assembled and waiting to be painted. Spring cannot get here soon enough, we are having serious spring fever. It's over 40 already here today. I think I'll open the door to the run and try to scoop some snow out of the way to see if the flock wants to run outside at all today. Fresh air would be good for them after being cooped up since January.

 

[ronott1]

Yay, pictures..as I was reading along, I thought, need to ask for pictures. Do you hatch a lot of the Crele Pene..is this a project? Would love to see that chick that is almost out. OE ey? I love the OE eggs..Not so dark though. When they get to the Khaki color, I don't care for it so much, love the F2 colors.

These will not be too dark of a green color. My Partridge Pene pullets lay much darker eggs.

I am working with Partridge for the Penedesenca Project.

My Cockerel and his girls:

 

[TeaChick]

I have a few frizzles and I LOVE them!. I started with two roos who I got as day olds 2 years ago:

Turuk (my husband named him after the crazy dinosaur in Avatar)


And Andy (short for Androgynous - who masqueraded as a hen, having no spurs and little interest in the ladies until the other roos moved out, but crowing)


Then I hatched a few myself:

Baby FluffNPuff


Frizz (also her identical "twin" sister Baby Frizz from the next hatch)


And in my experimental July hatch (during which I found out it was much too hot and humid in MN to hatch chicks without central air and that I do not enjoy keeping baby chicks in a brooder in my kitchen to keep their climate controlled properly):

Delilah


And her brother Doodle.


I'm hoping for some frizzled Easter Eggers this hatch since I bred Doodle with my Ameraucana/Araucana cross hens. I sold Turuk and Andy to nice homes (Turuk went to bring frizzle to a flock of Seramas and Andy went to live a pampered life as a pet rooster)
I have found though, that the crazy frizzling of the feathers has predisposed these chickens to a greater degree of bullying by the rest and they are always the ones to get the most feathers picked off them by the rest of the flock. And in order to keep their feathers in prime condition, they need a little more protein and vitamin suppliment than the smooth feathered birds. But I still love them.

Delilah looks super tiny, is she a super small bantam or is it a trick my eyes are playing on me?

 

[Cynthia12]

aww ron, look at him watching over his girls. He is a good looking boy. His comb! Amazing! You must live in a warm climate for him to still have a nice red comb..no frost bite.. Beautiful.
My first boy out there..hope he turns out handsome..RIR cockerel.

 

[angelobutter]

YES!!! my chickens started laying again. they took an (extended) break but I got three beautiful eggs this morning! good, as long as they keep this up I can add some of my own eggs to my incubators for the hatch a long.

 

[ronott1]

aww ron, look at him watching over his girls. He is a good looking boy. His comb! Amazing! You must live in a warm climate for him to still have a nice red comb..no frost bite.. Beautiful.
My first boy out there..hope he turns out handsome..RIR cockerel.

It did get down to 27 degrees on night here this year...The record cold since records were kept is 14.

We need breeds here that can take 110 plus temps and Penedesencas are Ultra Heat Hardy. They don not pant until it gets to 100 and I have never seen one spread out their wings. The big old Barnie pants at 80 LOL.

 

[Cynthia12]

Have to add ron...love your girls too, but really loving the wheaten.